Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 2

The Bronx Zoo is at the forefront of an effort to save a species of toad, whose natural habitat was destroyed when a river in Tanzania was dammed.

Police are hunting a group of gypsies suspected of burglarizing at least ten homes in the Bronx and Queens these past few months. The group preys on the elderly, police say, may be responsible for other break-ins in other states.

Yesterday, students at St. Raymond's Elementary School in Parkchester presented New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan with a $15,407 check. The money will go to Haiti.

A building manager, found guilty last year of criminally negligent homicide in the "Black Sunday” fire, will have to wait another week to find out if his conviction will stand. Cesar Rios could go free after a juror on the trial admitted that she e-mailed and tried to "Facebook" a witness.

State Sen. Pedro Espada and his lawyers have accused Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of launching a smear campaign against him.

The future of City Island's only FDNY fire company, Ladder 53, is once again in doubt. Last week, Mayor Bloomberg's 2011 fiscal year budget called for the shuttering of 20 fire companies, and which names and numbers weren't given, Ladder 53 - the quietest unit in the city - is likely on the list.

Blogging in the Huffington Post, a Hofstra University professor has some words of wisdom for University Heights Secondary School students, whose school is in danger of being kicked off Bronx Community College's campus. Here's another post by the same author criticizing BCC's decision (he’s friends with a teacher at the school), and here's an article that appeared the Mount Hope Monitor, concerning opposition to the eviction.

A trauma surgeon at St. Barnabas Hospital, who travelled to his native Haiti the day after the earthquake to help out, recalls his heart-wrenching experiences.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has been wooing Bronx Democrats.

More on the 16th Congressional District's status as the nation's hungriest place.

All eyes on Leroy Comrie as he takes over Land Use Committee, at a time when the City Council is beginning to take strong stands on development projects, as it did with the Kingsbridge Armory.

Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 26-27

Hello, everyone. We're back with your News Roundup for the past two days!

The sounds of protest from hundreds of students, families and teachers were not met as it was decided early this morning that 19 of the city's schools will be closed due to poor academic performance, the Bronx's Christopher Columbus High School included. By 2:40 a.m., over 300 people had spoken at the panel held at Brooklyn Technical High School, only a handful of which were in favor of the closings. Despite these opinions, nearly every closing was met with an overwhelming majority vote. One representative from Queens laments the decisions: “Listening means to hear but also to digest and allow the information to have an effect on our opinion."

In related news, the Bronx's Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School was one of lucky ones. The Department of Education decided to keep the high school's doors open, thanks to an outpouring of community support.

An update on the wildly successful Bronx gun buy-back program: $184,000 was paid for 1,186 guns. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said, in reference to the very recent shootings of two Bronx women, "This is bittersweet. These 1,200 weapons symbolize...another Sadie Mitchell...another Vada Vasquez. Perhaps we'll avoid another Vada Vasquez with these weapons being here." Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly is happy to announce that the guns will be melted down and turned into coat hangers: in his words, a "much better use of them." 

Several Bronx men were given the opportunity for employment in tearing down the old Yankee Stadium, only to be lied to and left where they started. David Phillips, the Goodwill job developer in charge of placing the men packed up and took off without notice. The "Back to Work" program's response: "move on."

Early this morning, a pedestrian was hit by a car and has sustained serious injuries. The driver of the car was also injured. The accident took place on East 151st Street and Grand Concourse. The area has been closed to traffic on the northbound side between East 150th and 151st street for investigations.

Congressional District 16 (Morrisania, Mott Haven and Bedford Park) has been found to have the highest household hunger rate in the nation, according to a report by Gallup and the Food Research Action Center. The figures are startling, as families were asked whether they had ever been in a situation in which there wasn't enough money to buy necessary food. The percentage of households suffering from hunger in District 16 were found to be as high as 36.9%.

The New York Post reports on a neighborhood's response to Praxis Housing Initiatives' plans for a permanent supportive housing development on White Plains Road in Wakefield. While the Q&A session on January 7th attempted to clarify the difference between "permanent supportive housing" and "homeless shelters," residents remain uneasy and skeptical.

The Westchester Merchants Association's case with the Department of Homeless Services has been tossed by a Manhattan judge. The Bronx merchants argued that Homeless Services should be required to do a comprehensive study of a neighborhood before creating a shelter there. Local leaders were disappointed by the verdict as well: John Bonizio, president of the Westchester Square Merchants Association, said, "They don't consult with the community boards. They find a spot and put it in."

To end on a brighter note, the sculpture in front of the Bronx River Arts Center in West Farms Square is still free of any graffitti, six months into its installation ("Knock on wood," as the Daily News said, undoubtedly with all pun intended).